means rates can go higher and when you combine that with the billions that we spent after hurricane sandy you can see why rates are going down. it will produce a ton of jobs as spending has been held back while we waited for washington. certainty beckons and you want to be involved in the markets ahead of the certainty. that is why this is a rally in anticipation of certainty. hence why the banks are going higher. and they can loan out your money what you were getting on your cds and your savings account. which brings me to gold. lots of people think when you buy gold, you do it because inflation is about that. i think the recent move down in gold confirms that interest rates are going higher. gold may have yet further to fall. i still like gold. so to sum it up, you are asking what the heck is this market doing running up ahead of a no deal near term? the markets are telling us we will only get some agreement on the budget and taxes. sure, our debt will get downgraded like it did last year, but maybe that is the price our government is willing to pay to get this economy moving again. her